Camping 101

We're almost experts! (Well, not really, but we get better and better.) We've camped at several national parks: Bontebok, Addo, Mountain Zebra; and at some private campgrounds: Oaks Rest Vineyard, Cefani campground near Cintsa, White Clay Resort in Coffee Bay, and Port o'Call in Southbroom. 

Our Oaks Rest campsite was in the middle of a vineyard with rolling hills and a picturesque dam. We got a couple of bottles of the Oaks Rest wine and enjoyed two peaceful nights. We had our own bathroom and it was pristine-- bathrooms are now one of the first things I look at 😊. We've been lucky with just about everywhere we've stayed.) The owners at Oaks Rest were so kind! They even delivered mosquito repellent to our campsite when we were desperate (water, warmth, bugs... mosquitos! Even the smoke from the braai didn't help completely). We had one really windy day and one calm day. The view of the hills and vineyards at Oaks Rest was stunning and the moon at night was sublime.

Cefani campground was on the beach (almost). You just needed to walk a small path through the trees next to the lagoon and you ended up on warm sand and a stunning beach. The first day we were there the wind was so crazy on the beach I tied my hat down and hoped for the best. If you detect a theme here, you're right. Windy and rainy weather has followed us everywhere (we even had hail in Mountain Zebra), but  luckily we always get a good day that follows. The second day we had a chance to enjoy a walk on the beach without being wind blown. The third day was the beginning of the weekend school holidays (the noise begins!) and by then we were ready to leave. 

The Cefani braai master!

Rondavels in the background for those not wanting to camp, and the lagoon washing in from the ocean just beyond. We had trees around us that were a perfect wind break the first night.

We left the Cefani campsite and headed to Coffee Bay. It was a long drive from the main highway -- 70 kilometers on dirt and gravel road once we were off the N2. The entire region is Xhosa with traditional rondavels spread throughout the hills. There is a lot of poverty and unemployment -- over 60%. The small town of Coffee Bay itself caters largely to surfers. The buildings of the town are clustered together with a few hostels, at least one restaurant/bar offering free spliff (doubtful, but that's what they advertised), a couple of campgrounds, a few small resorts on the periphery, and some smaller restaurants/takeaways, along with the usual small shops and gas station. You can drive end to end in about 5 minutes. We came to Coffee Bay without a pre-arranged place to stay. The hostels in town looked younger and likely loud in the evenings, but who knows. We had a beer in the garden bar of one of the hostels we checked out. The outside bar/garden was nice, we almost got a room there but we decided after our beers to see what other options there were before committing. We drove around and looked at the campground and the resort in town. Neither seemed a good fit (with our rig's rooftop tent, the campground was literally not a fit with huge trees and low branches). We ended up opting for a small resort outside of town called White Clay with its four camping sites on the cliffs. We were the only ones camping, so it felt a bit strange all alone, though it was incredibly beautiful. We stayed a night and then headed further up the coast. We did the 70 kilometers back to the N2 and planned our next stay much further up the coast so that we could get a main coastal road and avoid driving back and forth to the N2 each time we camped by the ocean. 

Coffee Bay -- on the cliffs at White Clay Resort

  

I have learned a lot about monkeys! First, always have a monkey hatchet to wield, or you will be robbed of all food in ten minutes. Richard is our monkey hatchet person. Second, monkeys have no interest in listening to anything I have to say. It doesn't matter if I raise my arms, yell, or wield the cast iron pan. They only runaway when Richard shows up with the monkey hatchet. The lesson in watching monkeys work their way through the campground is never leave your food unsecured for a minute. Our very experienced fellow campers lost all of their fruit and snacks the first ten minutes they were in the campground. The first morning when we got up, we were surrounded by monkeys on the fence and in the trees, all scoping us out. You can see from the guy below, they have a lot of success! Bad monkeys.

  

Another lesson is always have a cooking plan ready to go when the weather is crap and your braai isn't going to happen . I am now the gas-burner cook and the purchaser of canned baked beans for use in a pinch. Turns out that ostrich steak and canned baked beans go great together, who would have thought.